interrogation techniques. it is clear the president is not concerned about that nominating process at this point. for the past four years john brennan has served as the president's top counterterrorism advisor at the white house. he will face questions about the administration's expanded drone assassination program. brennan has been the, at the forefront of that program. he was the first to come out in and publicly acknowledge it back in april of last year. brennan has been notably absent of any public discussions about benghazi for which he is likely to also face a degree of tough scrutiny. jenna? jenna: what, so that is for the head of the cia. these are big positions. let's move to the defense secretary as well. what can you tell us about the president's pick for defense secretary, the controversy down in d.c. surrounding potentially that choice? >> reporter: what has concerned both republicans and democrats, in terms of the choice of chuck hagel for defense secretary is

essentially remarks that he made when he was in the senate about israel. in 2006 he gave an interview tomorrow toer middle east envoy aaron david miller. hagel said the following. >> the jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people up there. i'm a united states senator. i'm a united states senator. >> reporter: hagel favors direct talks with iran and as well as hamas. and he was one of two senators to vote against sanctioning iran. >> he consistently advocated weakness with respect to our enemies, with respect to the nation of iran. he has opposed sanctions over and over again and the job of the secretary of defense is to be a serious, credible strength and deterrent and, unfortunately i think weakness in a secretary of defense invites could not flick because bulllies don't respect weakness. >> reporter: his defenders point out that chuck hagel

valiantly in vietnam. he received two purple hearts there. knows what war is all about but his critics pipt out that was against the surge in iraq. he called it the biggest foreign policy mistake. he warned it would be the biggest foreign policy mistake since vietnam. obviously the surge turned out differently. he will face tough questions about those positions if he will take the helm at the defense department. general jenna. jenna: all ahead, thank you, jennifer. jon: for more on the controversy surrounding the president's planned picks let's bring in bret stevens, foreign affairs columnist at "wall street journal." about chuck hagel first. it is a quote that sounds familiar to you and you wrote it. before his official nomination, mr. obama may appoint mr. hagel to take a place at the pentagon. as almost score setting matter i almost hope he

does. it would confirm a point i made earlier this column earlier this year, that mr. obama is not a friend of israel. >> you could hardly think of another leading contender for that position who would be, who would raise more eyebrows than chuck hagel when it comes to israel. you heard earlier jennifer griffin quoting the line about the jewish lobby, which is interesting because millions of americans who are christians and not jewish are also supporters of israel. there is the conflation between the jewish lobby and israel lobby which is very disturbing. there is broader record especially concerning iran would make anyone concerned for the security of is rainfall and the relationship between israel and the united states worried about his position as secretary of defense. jon: but this is a guy who served two terms in the senate. >> right. jon: he is a decorated vietnam veteran, a purple heart recipient. >> two purple hearts. jon: two purple hearts. why not put him in at the top job in the pentagon. >> there are millions of

veterans in the country. nobody doubt's chuck hagel ses personal courage. that is not at issue. what is at issue his political judgment and what is at issue the signal his nomination sends to some of our adversaris. one of the reasons why we have a problem with iran they don't take us seriously when the president says we'll not let iran get a nuclear weapon. you can hardly think of someone who better sends the message of weakness to the iranians than the nomination of chuck hagel who is consistently opposed sanctions. talked about engagement with iran and opposed the possibility of a military strike which he would be in charge of if he becomes the secretary. jon: as you well know in his first term, the president when campaigning for it, argued we should have direct talks with our enemies, people like iran. jon: this is a nominee who reflects the president's own position. >> that was four years ago and we've been undertaking those talks and presumably there has been some evolution in the president's thinking when he says containment is not an option with iran. when he says all options are

on the table when it comes to iran. what this says the second term of the obama administration when it comes to dealing with iran will look very much like the first. the difference is iranians have that much more enriched-uranium and they're that much closer to acquiring a nuclear weapon. this is critical choice other allies around the world will be looking at. jon: we didn't even get to john brennan but we'll leave it there. bret stevens from the "wall street journal". >> good to be here. jon: thank you. jenna: turning to the growing debate over gun control in the wake of the connecticut school shooting. the white house now reportedly considering a slew of new measures including reinstituting a assault weapons ban, background checks and a database that could track gun sales nationwide as lawmakers from both sides of the issue dig in on both sides. >> we need a comprehensive approach and look at all the different elements. because a particular effort won't prevent something in one particular incident doesn't mean you might not do anything to help in other

incidents. >> you remember, bad guys aren't stupid. they are just bad. if they're intent on doing something bad they will figure out a way to get a firearm and use it. jenna: chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel is here on this topic today. we knew the white house would work on a proposal for this. where does this stand right now? >> reporter: senior obama administration official told us over the weekend they're taking a broad approach and gun laws are only one part of the issue. vice president joe biden was asked by president obama to develop plans. they're expected to include background checks for all gun buyers and include a database to allow the atf to check all gun sales. here is out key democrats pitching washington to take action. >> federal government has the obligation to act and prevent tomorrow's senseless death by insuring guns stay out hands of criminals and those who are dangerously ill. we should be able to find, reasonable, common sense reforms that can preserve our rights and protect our families at the same time.

>> reporter: but with such an emotional issue such as the second amendment that can be tricky, jenna. jenna: mike emanuel, live in washington. mike, thank you. jon: there's a difficult situation underway right now at boston's logan airport. we don't know a great deal of details but there is a plan that has been grounded as a result of smoke on board. obviously if you're going to have smoke on an aircraft better to have it on the ground than when it is in the air. you might recall a swissair flight went down after an on board fire put in so much smoke in the cockpit after the pilots were incapacitated. this japan airlines jet is grounded at boston's logan airport. report of smoke inside the cabin. we'll get more details as they become available. also this. a 12-year-old boy on trial for murder accused of killing his adoptive father, a neo-nazi leader. why the defense says the

kid's upbringing with was to blame. a dramatic river rescue as a woman holds onto a piece of ice more than an hour. how crews finally got her out. and, she's been playing football for years but now she has been taken off the field because of a boys-only football policy what is behind that rule and what she's going to do about it next. hey, our salads. [ bop ] [ bop ] [ bop ] you can do that all you want, i don't like v8 juice. [ male announcer ] how about v8 v-fusion. a full serving of vegetables,

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it will eliminate your monthly mortgage payments and give you tax-free cash from the equity in your home. and here's the best part -- you still own your home. ♪ ♪ jon: some international headlines we're keeping an eye on at this hour. a convoy carrying a american patriot missiles leaving the netherlands for turkey. those missiles meant to protect the country from possible rocket strikes from neighboring syria. severe weather turns deadly in lebanon. heavy rains causing widespread flooding outside

beirut and washing away trees and turning roads into rivers as you see in this video. at least two have died. french actor gerard depardieu getting close with vladmir putin. the two meeting for dinner after the actor received his russian citizenship. the actor says he is leaving france because of a proposed super tax on millionaires. jenna: the while resuming for a 12-year-old boy accused murder. prosecutors say he shot and killed his father as he slept in his home two years ago. after lengthy delays the trial is now focusing on the boy's mental state. jamie colby from the breaking news desk. >> good morning to you, jenna. the delay in the trial was needing time necessary for a mental health expert to evaluate the boy who in videotaped interview with police admitted he killed his dad. hall was 32, unemployed

plumber when his son, still not identified allegedly shot his father while he was sleeping. defense attorneys for the boy claim he was raised in a violent environment and taught killing people was okay. child welfare authorities in fact, jenna, made more than 20 visits to the home checking on the boy. but the public defender representing him argued the youngster joined his fare, a regional leader of the national socialist movement, to nazi rallies and to the mexican border to learn how to keep mex ans out of the u.s. they say he had a violent streak. stabbing a teacher while in kindergarten with a pencil and the question in this case is did know what he was doing was wrong? his 11-year-old sister told her days ahead of time he planned to shoot his dad to avoid a breakup with their step mom. that is where the case today back in court. it is heard by a judge, not a jury. that judge will decide if there was premedcation and --

premeditation and whether or not his fathers beliefs and the boy's exposure to neo-nazi tactics led to the murder. if the judge rules he is guilty he could be held by juvenile authorities until he is 23. that is the latest, jenna. jenna: what a case. jamie, thank you. >> it is. sure. jon: a very daring rescue on an icy river in toledo, ohio. it all started when someone called in a report of a woman clinging to a piece of ice. firefighters and police quickly sprung into action. >> surprised they were able to, they were struggling after half hour or so trying to gain to the surface of ice. that is a risk there, they could break off is ice and go under. jon: but the frigid waters proved too much for divers with their specialized suits. they had to call in a hover craft. the boat is able to reach the woman and pluck her out of the water. she was then rushed to the water. right now we are awaiting word on her condition. jenna: while our big news item of the day is the president's new national

security team, we also have some brand new developments in our showdown with iran over its nuclear program. we have latest moves from washington that some say may help cripple finally iran's fragile economy. will it be enough this time around, this round of sanctions? we're going to talk about that. syria's president assad proposing a peace deal to end the blood did i civil war. he is out with a new proposal. why it is being rejected next. [ indistinct conversations ]

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jenna: welcome back. everybody one. we await the president's announcement today for two new nominees for the secretary of defense and the head of cia there are some brand new developments in the iran nuclear showdown we want to talk to you about. the u.s. is again tighting

the economic news noose by releasing new sanctions against iran. this time they target key industry in the country, making it closer to some say, a true trade embargo. all this amid new signs that iran wants to talk. joining us, peter brookes, fellow for national security affairs at the heritage foundation and. we have mark from the foundation of defense and democracy. mark, a new year. let's take the conversation in a little bit of different direction are these sanctions making us safer now? >> well, jenna, i'm not sure if they're making us safer now. certainly they're getting much more punitive than they have ever been. they will break the nuclear rule of ayatollah khomeni, the supreme people leader. it is starting to look like a trade embargo on iran, a

nonhumanitarian trade embargo on iran. jenna: explain what it different about than other sanctions we've seen before. >> the iranians are really brilliant circumventing sanctions. playing a a game of catch me, if you can using front companies to circumvent the restrictions. these new sanctions go after sectors of the iranian economy. key industrial soaktores like energy, ship building and ports. this provides revenue iran needs for proliferation activities terrorism and vast human rights repression. jenna: are these steps necessary in order for the run-up to war? >> look, jenna, we've been, this is the triumph of hope over experience. i have no problem with tougher sanctions on iran. it is an important effort but the fact of matter is we've been negotiating with iran since 2003. 2003, that is almost 10 years now. so once again iran as we do these sort of things iran, centrifuges continue to spin. they continue to work on

their intercontinental ballistic missile problem which many believe they will have a missile capable of reaching the united states by 2020 three. they are closer to that. they have a missile warhead program. we keep talking to iran. iran likes to talk to us because it gives them more time. time is on their side. i just don't see this making a huge difference in iran's nuclear program and i think this administration's policy failed so far. jenna: mark, do you agree? >> i do agree with peter. so far the sanctions imposed severe economic cost on the iranian economy but we didn't design sanctions to impose economic costs. we designed sanctions to stop iran's nuclear weapons program. there is no evident to date as peter said sanctions changed the risk/reward calculus of this regime. what is important, sanctions, coercive diplomacy and credible threat of military force. this administration has to make it very clear, the president, the new secretary

of defense that unless khomeni relents the united states will restroi militarily iran's nuclear weapons program. jenna: you both will come back later on about many is of these new choices and how it figures into this new team the president is putting together for his second term. peter, on this, we can't just look at iran in isolation itself. president assad comes out this weekend and says i have a new deal for everybody. come with me. i will remain in power. things will be better. how does the syria issue complicate or figure into what is going on with iran in the broader picture in the region. >> iran is trying to tie syria into the nuclear negotiations. remember we talked to them a couple times last year. two or three times we had three rounds of talks because they tried to include that. because it is very, very important, that iran, or syria unbashar assad survive what is going on there because iran is trying to become the most dominant power in that part of the world and their influence,

increasing influence in iraq, their influence in syria and desired influence in lebanon would give them a tremendous amount of capability and influence in the middle east. so yeah, it is very, very important to them and these two things are connected. jenna: it raises back to the conversation though, the center of all of which is whether or not we're safe and if we're going to be safer in 2013 than we were in 2012. so, mark, we're hearing again, iran, maybe, is giving the indications maybe if we can believe them that they want to talk again of the how do you proceed? >> well, you know they have been, as peter said they have been talking to us for a decade and we've gotten no further. only their nuclear program has gotten further. iran is at the epicenter of this challenge. it represents the most significant threat to american national security and unfortunately the administration really subcontracted our national security, regional players like qatar and turkey and others who have been supporting islamists forces in syria. we have this competition

between iran-supported assad and islamist-supported al qaeda opposition in syria. we've given no support to the liberal opposition. we give no support to moderates and 60,000 dead syrians are testament to the fact we provided no support to those that represent american values and represent american values. i think that's a failure. jenna: peter, quickly can we change that path? if you believe what mark says is the path changeable as of now? >> well it is never too late but i don't think it's going to change. if you like egypt, you're going to like syria because it will be worse than egypt. i don't think any of futures for syria are good. in fact i think they could be much worse than what we're seeing in egypt today and this administration hasn't done a good job on its middle east policy. jenna: we'll have you both to talk about the new picks, john brennan for cia, chuck hagel for secretary of defense, how that could be game changers in all of this we have a little indication how you feel already but we'll have you back to talk

more about it. gentlemen, nice to have you here today. >> thanks, jenna. >> thanks, peter. jon: secretary of state hillary clinton back on the job after several days in the hospital because of a blood clot. what is next for mrs. clinton? driving home a message. one man claiming he can drive all by himself in the carpool lane because of his unusual companion. >> i was hunting. i wanted to get caught. there is a pile of cars on the freeway and the carpool lane is open and i have two persons and in the car, me and a corporation. has been a problem for me. but i'm also on a lot of medications that dry my mouth out. i just drank tons of water all the time. it was never enough. i wasn't sure i was going to be able to continue singing. i saw my dentist and he suggested biotene. it feels refreshing. my mouth felt more lubricated. i use the biotene rinse twice a day and then i use the spray throughout the day.

it actually saved my career in a way. because biotene really did make a difference.

jon: secretary of state hillary clinton heads back to work today just days after she got out of the hospital where she was treated for a blood clot near the brain. sheave washington correspondent james rosen live at the state department for us now. it may be her first day back in the building but i guess she has been working from home to some extent, right? >> reporter: that's correct, jon. aides have been telling us as much. since roughly mid-december, shortly after she first took ill with a stomach virus, that was compounded by a, excuse me, a concussion that clinton suffered according to her aides when she fainted at home. then after the concussion, doctors discovered this blood clot located in a vein between the brain and the skull behind mrs. clinton's right ear. thankfully she left new york presbyterian hospital in

manhattan under her own steam two days ago in manhattan. according to one aide she is already taking part in some meetings by phone. >> she talked to her foreign policy advisory board meeting here yesterday. noting, she was sorry she wasn't here for the meeting but the subjects were very timely and important and thanking them for the work that they have done. she has not had any foreign leader calls yesterday but she is condition continuing to receive memos from staff and to work through her papers. >> reporter: this was the second blood clot that secretary clinton has suffered. the first having developed in her leg back in the 1990s. as we've been rrting all along and glad to report all along she is expected to recover fully, jon. jon: the one question people want answer including top leaders on capitol hill, when will the secretary testify about the benghazi

incident? >> can't answer that with certainty. as you know she was expected to to appear before congress in mid-december after the state department accountability review board issued its final report on the benghazi attacks. the last time she was seen in public, save for the departure from the hospital in still photographs was back on december 7th on the trip that took her to prague, dublin, belfast and that is when she took ill. clinton has never gone sustain public questioning about the terror attacks in libya where four americans including the ambassador to libya were killed and for which the secretary accepts full responsibility. clinton met this morning with her assistant secretaries about two hours ago. she will carry out sessions with the defense secretary, national security advisor and the president of afghanistan. we're told she will probably not undertake any further interedish international travel in her remaining weeks. we expect she will testify about benghazi in three

weeks time. jon? jon: james rosen at the state department. thank you. jenna: in other news, a california man is literally trying to drive home a message that corporations are not really people. the man who has been upset for years at the legal issues surrounding corporate personhood got caught driving solo in the carpool lane on purpose you about claims he did nothing wrong because he had corporate paperwork in the vehicle with him which he says counts as a second person. he is in traffic court today in california and joining me now, during doug burns, former federal prosecutor and criminal defense attorney and john a criminal defense attorney coming from l.a. i'm a calfornian too. we have sympathy for all the california courts have to deal with but what is this going talking about? >> well, basically saying under california vehicle code section 470 a person, a corporation is considered to be a person. so he is saying look the paperwork that i have allows me to ride in the carpool

lane because of this definition. it is the same definition under the citizen united versus federal election commission case in 2010 where the united states supreme court said essentially the same thing that a corporation is a person. so his disputing this because he thinks that that ruling is, in his opinion ridiculous. so he will use that in the traffic trial. jenna: he has been trying to get caught for 10 years, doug. trying to be caught in the carpool lane to get caught in this. does he have a case? >> it is interesting because you sort of have two answers. the common sense and living room answer, come on, this is ridiculous. the whole purpose of the law is to reduce traffic and have individuals carpool together. jenna: correct. >> but, john makes a good point which is the legal analysis answer is, statute he do fines a person to include a corporation, and the legislature so runs the argument, should have said human beings in the car and by the way, jenna, living human beings. this way we don't have a

problem of a dead body in the trunk qualifying, jon for the high occupancy vehicle lane. joking aside, argument from the legal purists you have to go back to the legislature and change the language. jenna: jon, do you think they need to be more specific? >> yeah, they do need to be more specific but here's the thing the legislative intent, as doug said that is key. what did the ledge you're intend when they passed the carpool lanes? was it to have a paperwork you could identify as person or reduce congestion. the judge in this traffic trial could do a lot of different things. he could dismiss it in the interest of justice. police officer may not show up. the police officer may not remember the facts of the case. there is a few outs for this citizen that wants to challenge this. jenna: real quick, doug, does he pay the $481 minimum fine in california or does he skirt on this. >> no, just so we're clear he wants the opposite result. he wants to lose. he wants a ruling that a corporation is not a person. but the point of the matter

is, john would confirm this, you have the citizen united case the supreme court already said a corporation is a person. so a local traffic ruling in california will not cut into that. jenna: we'll see what happens. interesting case. worth a try. maybe. traffic is bad out in california. you can understand where he is coming from, maybe. that could be stretching it. doug, john, thanks very much. nice to have you both. >> my pleasure. jon: he should ride his bike to work. jenna: that is a good tip, jon. jon: a 11 year-old pennsylvania girl who loves football has been putting on bad since she was five. until the catholic league which she plays kicked her off the team. the archdiocese enforced boys-only rule for football angering her parents and generating support for caroline from around the world. >> the decision whether or not you put a child on the football field should be up to the parent or the coach and assessment of kid's

ability should be done objectively. >> not just a safety issue for girls. could be a safety issue for anybody. as long as we know how to play, and play right, if i feel i want to stop i will stop. right now i want to keep going if i can. jon: caroline's parents say her daughter's term mates are behind her. the diocese is reviewing the policy but her father says there are no plans to change what he calls an archaic and rule. she plays guard. jenna: i am biased. i played boys baseball in the san francisco youth league until i was 13. it worked out fine. it was okay. everything went all right. jon: difficult game. different sport. jenna: come on, jon. give her a shot. everyone is okay until maybe later. i'm sure she i will be a better athlete because of it. that is my argument that is where it will stand. the fiscal cliff chatter is dying down on wall street as investors look ahead to

earnings season. it has been okay on last couple days on wall street if you look back for a couple weeks. we'll talk about what we're seeing for company report cards. what you might see for the financial future. you will see a change in your first paycheck when you get the payroll tax cut not in there. it is a race against time to find a fashion executive whose plane disappeared three days ago. the latest on the search for this mr. misoni report coming up next. hi. i'm henry winkler.

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at one reverse mortgage today, you'll learn the benefits of a government-insured reverse mortgage. it will eliminate your monthly mortgage payments and give you tax-free cash from the equity in your home. and here's the best part -- you still own your home. take control of your retirement today. ♪ ♪ jenna: desperate search underway for the head of the legendary italian fashion house missoni. it has been days since vittorio missoni and his wife, four others in fact disappeared off the coast of venezuela. jamie colby live in the newsroom with more on this. >> wish we had more to report because they have literally vanished without a trace. the family of the italian fashion executive vittorio

missoni are holding out hope he and five others on the plane are still alive. it has been three days of searching by air and sea. no evidence of what happened to the small plane. they were off the coast of venezuela. the small twin-engine plane was carrying missoni, his wife, another couple and two crewmembers from venezuela. his sister wrote on twitter over the weekend, quote, please help us find them and bring them back home. italian media is even suggesting the group may have been kidnapped but there are no reports or evidence of that. in the meantime the family built and owned business must decide if it will proceed with a planned show of its men's line in milan. there is speculation of the company's future without vittorio the company dates back to the 1950s and is family-run. the family continues to hold vigil with hope he and others are alive. they're awaiting any word where the plane disappeared and why. it is unclear this hour,

jenna, how much longer the search crews will scour the waters or terrain for any wreckage and survivors. as any news comes into our newsroom we'll bring it to you. jenna. jenna: this story is scary. >> without a trace. jenna: so strange. jamie, thank you. >> we're on it. jon: right now a major settlement to tell you about related to the housing crisis with 10 big banks and mortgage companies agree today to pay a whopping $8.5 billion to settle complaints that they wrongfully foreclosed on homeowners who should have been allowed to stay in their homes. bank of america shelling out more than 3 1/2 billion to fannie mae. folks who were wrongfully foreclosed on could get as much as $125,000 each under terms of the settlement and nearly half a million homeowners could be eligible for some sort of compensation under this deal. the u.s. may have averted a fiscal cliff but keep an eye on your 401(k). major companies are reporting those all important fourth quarter

earnings reports this week and the markets are watching closely. is sandra smith joins us live from the fox business network here in new york with a look what you can expect. sandra? >> reporter: jon, the markets are watching closely as the dow is down after that huge rally to start the year last week. well this is the second trading week of the year and corporate earnings will be coming out this weekend. this will be a major test for the markets. so the s&p 500 by the way which is a gauge of the broader stock market, it hit a five-year high and now we've got some of the world's biggest companies reporting earnings. apple, which is the most valuable company out there by market cap, we all know that one, it had its price target slashed by barclays analysts today heading into corporate earnings season. so apple reacting to that news today. applied materials, this is a big chipmaker for computer companies, jpmorgan downgraded this stock and their coverage of that stock today. so there is certainly concerned about these big-name companies heading into corporate earnings but

unofficially the season for corporate earnings kicks off tomorrow with alcoa reporting this is the world's largest aluminum company. this is good test of the global economy because aluminum goes into everything like soda cans and automobiles. we'll look for that after the close tomorrow. here's what is expect, everyone. fourth quarter profits for s&p 500 companies are expected to be up 2.9%. if you strip out all the financial companies, however, earnings for the fourth quarter are expected to be up just one half of one percent. just to go to show you how there is some disappointment from analysts out there that is weighing on the stock market today. by the way, jon, wells fargo will be reporting this week as well. all of this will be a major test of these markets after that big rally to start 2013 last week. back to you. jon: perhaps wells fargo fwo and some of those other banks still doing well after the taxpayer bailout. >> reporter: they certainly have come back, bounced back hard. they were one of the big leaders for 2012. he had so heading into

corporate earnings this will be a big tell-all whether or not the financial firms can continue and keep that up in the new year. jon: sandra smith, fox business network. thank you. jenna: take you down to the white house in d.c. where we expect the president to nominate former senator chuck hagel to be the new secretary of defense and john brennan to be the new head of the cia we expect that 1:05 eastern time. we're getting word both men are expected to speak. it will be interesting to hear what they have to say. stay tuned to fox news. we'll have that of course for you live at 1:05 eastern time. listen to this, google's chairman is defying the state department with a private trip to north korea. washington had warned against the visit as it comes on the heels of north korea's rocket launch. the latest coming up in a live report. also some dramatic video as a shopping mall goes up in flames. details on where it happened and what investigators is think may be to blame.

jenna: brand new stories coming up next hour. court action in the colorado movie massacre as prosecutors begin to outline their case against the suspect, james holmes. the evidence they have so far we'll review that with you. he is accused of plotting to bomb the new york city subway system. today the terror suspect makes his first appearance inside an american courtroom. both democrats and republicans phase a fight over raising the debt ceiling. we're live with that story coming up. jon: google chairman eric schmidt is in north korea right now despite the state department's misgivings over the timing of his trip.

it comes just weeks after that controversial rocket launch. schmidt's delegation says he wants a first-hand look at social media and the economy in the communist nation. washington though is questioning his motives. greg palkot is live in our london bureau with more on that. so what does he say this trip is all about, greg? >> reporter: well, jon, schmidt is a newcomer when it comes to north korea but he is going with experienced hands, that is, traveling with him, the former new mexico governor bill richardson. he has been there several times. he dealt with political issues there he helped to get american nationals out. google chairman schmidt has the highest profile american businessman ever to go into north korea however. his obvious interests is in the role of the internet and how it shapes societies, even a place as secretive as north korea. here is at least what richardson is saying this mission is all about. >> this is a private

humanitarian visit. we're here as individual american citizens looking at the humanitarian situation. >> reporter: as you noted, jon, the state department saying flatly the timing of this visit is not helpful. last month there was that satellite launch. washington says it was a cover for a intercontinental ballistic missile test. richardson says there is at least one pressing issue. there is a core korean-american heldpy pongyang. he is a tour guide operator with a religious background, jon. jon: what is the situation in north korea these days? >> reporter: well, this plays in perhaps with the visit of the google chairman. the young leader of north korea, kim jong-un, made a new year's address, relatively conciliatory. but the key thing is he says science and technology could be a way to improve the economy. from what we've seen on our visits though,, both he and perhaps google's schmidt

might have their work cut out for them. one of our earlier visits we were shown what appeared to be an internet center at a library. in fact it was a intranet center. the folks in north korea have almost no access to the real worldwide web and in our last visit, jon, we saw more mobile phones out in the streets but there is a hitch there too. these mobile phones can not connect outside of north korea. in fact they're more dumb than smartphones. however who knows. schmidt might have the idea to get a few more phones, google phones, google tablets google searches in north korea. jon: information wants to be free. greg palkot in london. thank you. jenna: it is a known fact that obesity is not good for your health but seems some risks get more attention than others. a new survey finding while most americans realize carrying too much pounds can contribute to heart disease and diabetes there are other series -- serious consequences few realize. they include increased risks

for certain types of cancers, arthritis, sleep apnea, even infertility. a study finding less than 15% of the survey knew about those risks as well. jon: the president about to make a big announcement. we are live at the white house where we're awaiting news about the president's picks for defense secretary and head of the cia. why both names are stirring up controversy. plus, prince charles telling us what keeps him up at night. the things he worries about next.

said. >> john brennan has been the president's top counterterrorism adviser but he's also served at the cia for 25 years. owe was a candidate for the agency's director in 2008 before withdrawing his name from consideration. the issue then was the agency's use of wate waterboarding and other so-called eve enhanced interrogation techniques which he opposed.

this time they will ask him about the use of drones to target al-qaida leaders. brennan was the first official to publicly acknowledge their use, even though the aftermath their use is evident to reporters on the scene. it has drawn fire from some of the president's critics. jon: wendell goler live at the white house for us now. thank you. for more on the president's latest nominations and the likely political reactions let's talk with bret baier, he the anchor of special report seen each we ca each week night on this network. i pulled a couple of quotes. this first one comes from politico today. it appeals the nomination of chuch nagel to obama's bipartisan spirit. when owe pwhapl ace seeking to end the war in afghanistan and dramatically reduce the pentagon's budget. this one yesterday from scott wilson in "the washington post." hagel's successful nomination would had a well-known

republican to the president's second term cabinet at a time when he is looking to better bridge the partisan divide, particularly after a bitter election campaign. we just heard senator lindsey graham saying this is kind of an in your face nomination, nothing bipartisan about it. so which is it? >> there are a lot of republicans who feel like senator lindsey graham, that former senator from nebraska chuck hagel stepped away from the republican party, namely in his firm opposition of the surge in iraq, when the party's nominee at the time, john mccain was running a presidential campaign counting the surge under george w. bush. the surge of course the troops going in to iraq, stepping up the troop presence there to try to get iraq under control. you'll remember then senator obama opposed the iraq surge as well. so, the republican party for the most part, many members believe

that chuck hagel stepped away from the foreign policy element back then, and was very adamant. he was for the iraq war before he was against it and then was very vocal about being against the surge in iraq and that's really where some of that back and forth started. then you add on top of that some of the statements that he's being criticized for about israel, and iran, and hamas, and you have some growing concerns on the right from the republican party, and senator lindsey graham has articulated those numerous times. jon: the president managed to, well fracture i guess is a good word for it the republican opposition in the house over the fiscal cliff negotiations. he got some republicans to vote in favor of higher taxes, others won't do so. call me a cynic, but in appointing a republican who is going to raise the ire of his fellow republicans, at least

some of them, does the president maybe get to -- a chance at least to fracture republicans in the senate? >> reporter: it's possible. and listen, this is also about moving forward with a nomination that he knows is probably going to stir some controversy. i mean this comes after susan rice's nomination was arguably pulled. people believe that the president wanted susan rice to be secretary of state, and she was making a very public effort to court senators up on capitol hill for that nomination. she withdrew her name herself, but it was believed that the president wanted her to be that nominee, at first. she wasn't. and this nominee, chuc chuck hailing was under fire from the start. it doesn't seem that the president wanted to pull this potential nomination and is ready for this fight.

he will likely have the votes, jon. and it may be a bumpy ride to get there, but he'll likely get there. and how much political capitol it takes to get there is really the question on both of these nominations. at the end of the day, the presidents usually get who they want to have in their cab tphefplt it's cabinet. it's a rare event when they don't. it does happen up here in washington but for the most part they can usually get the votes. jon: even more rare when a nominee is a former senator. how about john bren an also withdrew his name from consideration to be cia director about four years ago, now he's going to be the nominee, as we understand it. he is qualified now? i mean what's changed? >> reporter: from the left there is criticism about enhanced interrogation techniques that he pulled his nomination for in 2008. there are questions about the expanding drone program as wendell mentioned, that is a

criticism from the left. from the right there are really questions about where he's been on the benghazi-libya situation, and where he was in those seven hours, and where he's been about answering questions about it since the killing of the four americans in benghazi, and so i think they'll be some tough questions in this nomination hearing, and john brennan has a number of other things that i think sendses ma senators may bring up over his term, but he's well respected for a lot of his time at the cia, and his service, so he too probably will have the votes. jon: going to be fascinating to watch special report tonight, thank you you can catch bret on that program tonight with the latest political developments. 6:00pm eastern each and every night on the fox news channel. jenna a suspect a accused of

trying to bomb the new york subway system making his first court appearance today. this 26-year-old is a al-qaida operative who planned a series of attacks to coincide with 9/11. we have more from brooklyn with rick leventhal. >> heavily armed u.s. marshals providing security outside the federal courthouse in brooklyn for the first appearance of a 26-year-old originally from pakistan who moved to the uk on a student visa and was originally arrested back in 2009 for an alleged plot to alabama a shopping center in manchester england. he was released for lack of evidence but remained on the f.b.i.'s radar. he was extradited last week when his name surfaced into an investigation on a suicide bombing attack on the new york subway system that failed to be pulled off. he is the 8th defendant to face charges in brooklyn for the failed subway plot. you may remember one of his

alleged coconspirators who pled guilty back in 2010. he and others were communicating with a shado shadowy al-qaida member. they were e-mailing phrases, such as marriage. he was stopped and the plot was foiled. nasir was using the name language as zazi while communicating with this guy in pack sthapb and was part of this kpheur to commit multiple terrorist attacks and that's why the u.s. attorney in the u.s. was able tow prosecute him. that first appearance scheduled about two hours from now. jenna we'll look forward to developments on that case. thank you. jon: a big take down for the f.b.i. to tell you about. federal agents scratching a name off their most wanted list, after this man is arrested on the other side of the world. details on the bust and his alleged crimes coming up. plus, heavy artillery on the

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jenna "happening now" police in thailand arresting an algerian cybercrime suspect. this is important to us because easy parent lee on the f.b.i.'s most wanted list for allegedly making millions from hacking bank web sites. jaime colby has more. >> this is a really big get for the f.b.i., jenna. at a press conference that authorities had in bangkok they credited the sunday night arrest to an f.b.i. tip that the 24-year-old planned to pass through their airport on his way

to egypt following a vacation he took in malaysia. he's algerian and graduated with a computer science degree in algeria in twaeutd and was skille2008 and was skilled enough to hack accounts in 270 banks word wide with a huge illegally gained pwoupbt taoerbgs check this out 10 million in lastess per transaction. you can see him grinning there not taking the whole thing very seriously. police are studying two confiscated laptops, a tablet computer and a satellite phone and a number of external hard drives they have in their possession. the f.b.i. had been looking for him for three years and they plan to extradict him to the u.s. the 24-year-old denying the charges but he's also refuting that he'd ever been on the f.b.i.'s most wanted list. we'll keep you posted. jenna the smile is something, jaime, really, he looks too happy. you're a lawyer, you have the background.

what does he face potentially behind bars. >> reporter: a lot. each of the transactions will be a charge and it sounds like they have the goods on him. there was an arrest warrant waiting for him in the stay. they can't wait for him to get back. jenna maybe heights a nervous smile. >> reporter: maybe, it's a lot of jail time potentially. jon: he won't be smiling long i have a feeling. fast moving developments in syria. bashar al-assad addressing his war torn nation for the first time in months saying he will stand firm against his opponents. u.s. troops are getting closer to the conflict. now arriving in turkey they will operate patriot missile batteries on the border with syria. two other nato allies the netherlands and jeremy also supplying advanced patriot missile sis tomorrow's. they hope to keep the fighting in syria from spilling into turkey. leland vittert has more from our mideast bureau. >> reporter: so far john the patriot missile batteries have not been activated. if they are they will only protect turkish air space not

into syria where the rebels are taking a pounding from president bashar al-assad. a president that sounded defiant and we heard the same old same old in his speech that he's going to continue to fight the rebels. they say he has lost touch with reality. nevertheless you have to look at the video of him talking, the optics of this if you will speaking to a crowd of adoring supporters inside the damascus opera house. this is a president who is still in control, and despite many predictions that he was going to lose inside syria, that somehow this civil war was going to lead to his demise over the past few months, it has not. he is still in power and called on his troops to launch new offensive against the rebels. which so far in the past 24 to 48 hours they certainly have. they one a major battle in aleppo we are told. the rebels momentum has slowed

significantly. right now analysts are look at this picture and seeing that president bashar al-assad essentially gave up a lot of territory, the far northern part of the country and some of the more rural areas allowing the rebels to move n. but the rebels have not been able to make any gains on the heavy strategic area. damascus, et cetera, these rebels are very much outgunned. they have light weapons, machine guns, rpg's those kind of things going up against the syrian army who still has tanks and also president bashar al-assad certainly still has his air force intact and is using that to deadly consequences across syria. what it looks like we are heading towards, maybe something like what we saw in libya where a certain part of the country gets carved out by the rebels in the very beginning of the conflict, they stab their own safe-haven and the syrian army goes about trying to recapture a number of those areas. whether or not there is a no-fly zone like we saw inside libya is still a long way to be seen. jon: thanks leland.

jenna a community rocked by a murderous rampage one step closer maybe to the justice it deserves. will the accused gunman in the movie massacre in aurora, colorado ever face a jury? why some say today's preliminary hearing may be the closes he ever gets to a trial. we are awaiting the president's announcement from the white house on his new selection for his new national security team a few moments away. what does the president's seem say about the year ahead, about his plan to keep our country safe? we are going to take a closer look ahead. ♪ ♪ ♪ hi dad. many years from now, when the subaru is theirs... hey. you missed a spot.

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in the colorado movie house massacre. family members are getting a look now at accused mass

murderer james holmes in the courtroom today. these of course old pictures of that. we are working on getting new ones but a tight gag order is on -pt court. prosecutors hope to layout their case, eventually bring to a full trial. he's accused of killing 12 people and wounding 58 back in july at a midnight screening of the dark knight rises. alicia acuna has been following this. she is at the courthouse with more. >> we are just getting new information coming out of the courthouse from one of our producers inside, and she is telling us that the prosecution has put on the stand officers who were first to respond to reports of a shooting inside of the movie theater on july 20th in aurora, and what this officer is saying is somewhat disturbing as you can imagine. there are family members inside the courtroom. the officer who responded initially said that when he approached the back of the theater he saw a white car and he saw someone standing there. it was someone in a gas mask and he thought it was possibly another police officer.

the only difference was this person wasn't acting with any sense of urgency and this man, this male had his hands-on his car. as he made at approach he realized that there was a trail of blood and also that this was possibly the suspect. james holmes is the suspect who was in question at the time and the police officer said on the stand that james holmes was very relaxed. he was very easy to instruct, and that he moved him away to protect him from anybody else at the time and possibly other shooters in the area. this officer also said that james holmes appeared detached, very relaxed, and that he stared off into the distance, and that his -- the pupils of his eyes were huge. the defense is also doing a cross-examination of everyone on the stand and i want you to take a look that the video we took earlier this morning. this will give you an indication of the level of interest of the preliminary hearing hearing that started here this morning. this is the line that formed this morning of people waiting to get a seat in either the main

courtroom or one of the overflow rooms set aside by the judge. james holmes defense team arrived ready to put their own witnesses on the stand as well which is a departure from the usual preliminary hearing procedure. the prelim is supposed to be the prosecution's show, their time to prove the defendant should go to trial. legal analysts say with the defense calling witnesses as well that means they are likely planning to get on the record people talking about ho*efrpls *p holmes' erratic behavior, anything that could help a possible insanity defense. it will be tremendously difficult on the families and victims no matter what happens. >> i expect pictures of every victim will be displayed. there will be personal terrible moments describing the autopsies of everybody, and how specifically they were killed with a bullet entering their body in this way or that way. it's going to be gruesome and terrible to listen to. some families may want to hear this. others probably are wise to stay away. >> reporter: in the state of colorado the tradition is the

preliminary hearings usually last less than an hour, jenna the judge has set aside the entire week. jenna we'll continue to tpoeult. thanfollow it. we are going to bring in a former prosecutor and a former defense attorney. dan we heard the news from alicia. you're hearing the prosecution start their strategy talking to first responders first. what do you make of that move and is this case actually going to go to a full trial? >> they are proceeding in the way that you would expect them to. you want to establish that the suspect was at the scene, how he was first confronted by law enforcement. remember the preliminary hearing is only to establish probable cause, which is a much lower standard than beyond a reasonable doubt. the prosecution will show that there is evidence showing that he committed all of these crimes and that will take a while because so many people were killed here and then it will move forward to a trial stage. however there is always the possibility that there might be some kind of plea agreement to

life imprison. that is the only possible plea that i could imagine. jenna i want to talk about the plea in a moment. esther, talk about what the judge did here. in this case and it's a very rare move by the judge that they are allowing the defense to call their own witnesses, and that happens apparently in colorado according to one report in less than 1% of these preliminary hearings. so it's very fair. how does that change things potentially? >> well it allows the defense to neutralize what's been coming out by the state and this horrific evidence and witness testimony that is going to come out about 12 people who were brutally murdered while sitting in their seats watching a movie. this is going to give the defense an attempt to try to explain the conduct, which in the end they are going to hope will mitigate or at least excuse, you know, if he was insane, why this in fact happened. i think -- also i think the defense wants the same opportunity to put on evidence, to perfect their record eventually it's possible that some of these witnesses won't be

available for trial and that's why they want to get them on right now. so, i'm not sure because we don't know who the witnesses are yet, why they are calling them now, but i think the judge is just trying to make sure that this trial is absolutely fair, and that the defense is asking to put on evidence, and i think there is no harm to the court or to the prosecution in allowing them to do that. jenna it's interesting the defense did talk to the university psychiatrist in one of the hearings and we just heard that description from alicia about the cops saying that the -- holmes' eyes were these large pupils and we haven't talked a lot specifically about medication potentially here, or anything like that. dan, if you bring in all of those different factors, medication, insanity, where do you even begin a plea agreement here if you're a prosecutor. >> insanity i don't think will be successful here. you have such a planned attack on this theater, it was thought out. he obviously bought the weapons,

he bought armor, he booby trapped his apartment. it's not the haphazard type of insane act that would lead to a successful insanity defense. as to a plea a dream the only plea i could imagine would be life in prison with no possibility for parole. that would spare the victims from -- the victims' families from having to watch a trial and go through this and the defendant would be removed from society forever. other than that he is nicing the death penalty and that's his incentive to take such a plea. jenna esther your thoughts on that? >> i agree with dan. that would be the only plea i think that the community would support, that the victims -- i don't know if they would support it or not. but if they think that the preliminary hearing is going to be bad for the victims, just wait until the trial, it's just more, and more horrific and it doesn't seem to end. so if there is talk about a plea, i agree i can't imagine anything less than life without parole. but if it takes the death penalty off the table then it may be something that the prosecutors would consider in conjunction with the wishes of

the victims' families. jenna we just saw on the screen the victims' faces. one of the larger questions we won't be able to answer today is what does justice look like real any a case like this. appreciate your thoughts, dan and esther, always, thank you for the time. >> thank you. >> thank you. jon: take you overseas where prince charles is about to get a new title, grand father. new reaction from the soon to be granddad, what he says must be done now so his grandchild won't be blaming him in the future. plus, we are awaiting president obama to officially announce his new picks to head up america's national security program. that announcement just about 030 minutes away. [ whistle blows ] hi victor! mom? i know you got to go in a minute but this is a real quick me, that's perfect for two! campbell's chunky beef with country vegetables, poured over rice! [ male announcer ] campbell's chunky soup. it fills you up right. constipated? yeah. mm. some laxatives like dulcolax can cause cramps.

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this easy-to-understand guide will answer some of your questions, and help you find the aarp medicare supplement plan that's right for you. jenna: we're awaiting the president's official announcement of his new national security team. the president will nominate former senator chuck hague bell as the next defense secretary and counterterrorism advisor john brennan to lead the central intelligence agency. both choices could face a fight in the senate. that's what some say. they have to be confirmed there first before they officially get the title. peter brookes is senior fellow for national security affairs for the heritage foundation back with us. and mark duboiwiz defense for democracies and major general bo scales. there we are in the quad boxes. there is big football game tonight, right?

championship game. i will use this analogy because the president is like the head coach of a football team and he putting his coaching staff if you will. they will not be on the field like the cia agents or the military guy putting operation fees into movement, general scales, but this is the team that will make the calls. general scales what stands out most to you what this team looks like in the year ahead? >> a couple of things, jenna, first of all. they're both very, very close to the president and they're clearly personal choices intimate choices, if you will. the secondly, in many ways they're sort of juxtaposed in their policies. senator hagel is a gentleman who has been pretty much reluctant to face off against iran and, and on the other hand brennan has been a guy who perhaps has been more tactically and praying alley in the world as of

late. in my opinion they're the president's choice and i think all things considered they're pretty good ones. jenna: peter, you have experience in the cia were you there when john brennan was also there? what do you think about him returning to the agency potentially? >> as the general said, these are the president's choices. the senate has the right to ask important questions of both these, both these individuals. i think what you're looking at here in terms of national security is more of the same. if you like president obama's foreign policy over the last four years i think you will be comfortable with these individuals because i think that they are kindred spirnts to the president in terms of his views on foreign policy and national security. once again, it is not my call. it is the senate's call. there are important questions for both nominees. whether you're talking about john brennan and his counterterrorism strategy. is he ready for, you know, the entire world? remember, he is a regionalist. he is a middle east expert, a counselter terrorism expert. but what about china and the

president's specific pivot? about north korea. there are questions there. jenna: what do you think about that, peter? you worked in the cia have you worked with him before? do you have real concerns? >> no i don't know john brennan, jenna, so i can't say that. obviously an individual that worked in the white house. this is somebody who is capable. the question is, are you supportive of their approach to these issues? that is the important thing here once again. like i said the train has left the station on the president's foreign policy and national security. for chuck hagel, what are his views in terms of defense cuts in the future? what are his views on iran? and our relationship with israel? there is a lot of very important questions that these senators who are the ones that will be able to ask those questions, will ask of these nominees. jenna: mark, you often brief lawmakers of both parties about a variety of international policies issues. what are some of the top questions that need to be asked of both of these individuals? >> i actually do think it is about iran, iran.

after the dream team of hillary, panetta and pell tray you -- petraeus, the senate will have to scrutinize the records of all three of these gentlemen. for senator hagel his record on iran has been puzzling. he refused tos designate the iranian revolutionary guard core as a. obama administration is using to put pressure on iran and the senate will ask some tough questions why he refused to sign a letter to the european union calling for the designation of hezbollah as a terrorist organization when actually john brennan spent the past two years relentlessly trying to convince the e.u. to designate hezbollah as a global terrorist organization. this will be some interesting hearings and i think the senate will ask some pretty tough questions. jenna: to generalize that that that is interesting because it is about being able to name who our enmy --

enemies are in a broad context. general scales, senator kerry and senator hagel, both vets and supporters of the military and critics of the military as well. how do you have the two vets in high positions potentially? what would that mean? >> that's a great question. first of all i tend to support the person over the policy. i testified before senator hagel's committee in 2007 over the surge and i talked with him at length after my testimony. i will tell you this. one thing that struck me about him is enormous empathy for the american soldier. and as the military draws down he is going to be a person i think who maintains the trust and the compact that the government has with our returning veterans from iraq and afghanistan. so here's a buy who has seen war, who understands the nature and character of war. because of his own combat experience in vietnam will be reluctant to support

going to war again. here's a person who will be very supportive of our veterans as they return from war, jenna. jenna: interesting to read congressman, a new congressman from arkansas, so critical of senator hagel. he also an iraq and afghanistan veteran. we'll be interesting to see how that plays out. final quick question for all of you. peter, start with you. are we safer with these men at the top here, as to the top executives of their department? will they make us safer? >> they will do the best job they can and they will be well-intentioned but what i differ with the general it is policy. these are high quality people but the administration's policies have me concerned. we talked about that many times. once again i think you will see more of the same. jenna: mark, quickly? >> well the foremost challenge we have is from iran. that represents the most significant threat to our national security. so what is really important not what i think or what we all think about these people but what about iran's supreme leader khomeni thinks about the choices.

i'm not sure that he believes with these choices america is going to do everything possible to stop iran from making nuclear weapons. that is the important symbol i'll of these choice. >> general scales? >> these are the president's men. these are his choices. he was reelected. i agree with peter, it will be business as usual the next four years. accepting that, i do believe both of these men are reasonably well-qualified for the job and will carry the president's policy forward. it is the president's policy, not their policy, jenna. jenna: that is one of the big questions of 2013. are we safe? will we be safer in the years ahead? where is the country going? big questions for these gentlemen as well. we'll await the president's announcement a little after 1:00. thank you for your thoughts today. >> thank you, jenna. >> thank you, jenna. jon: those pending nomination battles not the only showdowns looming. is the faceoff over debt and taxes and runaway government spending. both parties are bracing for

a fight on raising the nation's borrowing limit as the debt clock spins faster and faster. shannon bream live in washington with a look at that shannon? >> reporter: jon, the treasury department says absent very quick action the u.s. in danger of defaulting on its financial obligations. that sets up a fight over the debt ceiling. the main point of leverage congressional republicans to as their chance to bargain over fiscal issues as we whoevered dangerously close to the fiscal cliff. remember president obama says there will be no debate whether congress votes to raise our country's debt limit. >> one thing i will not compromise over, whether congress pays the bill for a tab they racked up. if congress refuses to give the united states the ability to pay its bills. it could be catastrophic. last time congress threatened this course of action our entire economy suffered for it. >> reporter: gop leaders in the house and senate, brace yourself, mr. president. you better believe there is going to be debate.

congressman jim jordan says that is what the american people expect. >> let's do it for a change instead of saying give us more revenue. we promise we'll cut spending later. give us more borrowing authority, let us run up the credit card we promise to cut of the this is the old, lucy, charlie brown, the football, the american people are saying we're tired of it. we're not going to try to kick it this time. >> reporter: there is public battle brewing whether or not there will be more tax increases. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell says it is finished. house minority leader nancy pelosi says the possibility of tax hikes is still on the table, jon. jon: shannon bream in washington for us. thank you. jenna: are senate democrats getting a free pass when it comes to passing a budget. what the mainstream media is saying or not saying. a fair and balanced debate with our news watch panel ahead. a downtown mall goes up in flames and the battle to get everyone out and what may have actually started

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jenna: massive fire engulfing a shopping mall happening in a city in northeastern china. the fire burning for three hours, 3 1/2 hours in fact before it was put out finally. fortunately no reports of any injuries as fire crews managed to evacuate everyone from the five story building in time. no official word what caused the fire but investigators suspect it may have started from a welding accident. jon: well for months as you probably heard the white house and democrats were demanding higher taxes on the rich to cut the deficit. they did get their tax hikes but they never got around to deal with the biggest problem out there, the federal budget. senate democrats have not offered any budget for more than three years. it is now 1349 days since the senate last passed a budget. the mainstream mode yaw seems to be letting them getaway with it. why? let's talk about it with our "news watch" panel. jim pinkerton, contributing

editor and writer for "american conservative" magazine. ellen ratner, fox radio news service, both fox news contributors. on april 29th this year, assuming nothing happens before then, and i don't see a sign it will happen, ellen, it will be four years since the democrat in the passed any kind of budget. they are legally required to do so. why haven't they and why are the media haven't getting away with it. >> they have a budget control act that has limits. in some respects there has been a budget passed but the issue why isn't the media is looking into it i think the reasons are pretty complex. having to deal with personalities. having to do with whether members of congress in the senate and house are really willing to talk to the media. whether both sides more interested in throwing words at each other rather than looking at the details of the budget and those are difficult. jon: all right. the jim pinkerton, you're good at breaking down complex issues. why don't you tell us the

complexities involved here? >> well, actually no offense to ellen. i don't think there are any complexities. it is really simple. the mainstream media do not want to attack democrats. they love attacking john boehner, mitt romney, mitch mcconnell and everybody else. when it comes to harry reid and nancy pelosi they tend to give them a pass. the consequences of this are you that you get these last minute pieces of legislation like the fiscal cliff deal or the hurricane sandy legislation which are full of tax breaks for puerto rican rum and hollywood and nascar and, you know, limousines and so on and thi only people find out about after the fact because at 12:01 a.m., when the thing already been enacted. this is a lousy way to run the government and the democrats under leader harry reid have on responsible for this and yet you could look long and hard from mainstream media commentary on this. jon: ellen? >> i agree with jim, you know, it has been, this has

been let go but let's remember, from 1999 to 2007, there were three times the republicans also didn't pass a budget. would be very interesting to see if there was equal media coverage from that. we didn't go back and take a look at it. but that would be very interesting to take a look at. jon: republicans passed budget on the house side the last two fiscal years. one of them cut $6 trillion in spending from the president's proposed budget. the senate did vote on president obama's budget on may 25th of 2011 and it got no votes. they voted it down 97-0. but there is no budget still forthcoming in the senate itself. >> and house voted, house was also i think unanimous against it. look, it is, it is so clear that the republicans have tried with paul ryan as the budget chairman to put forth real budgets they think will, you know, address the deficit decades ahead and so on and democrats for equally

clear reasons just decided look, we don't want to either enact either tax increases or entitlement cuts. so we'll do the easy thing which is not, not even talk about it. that is much simpler and politically safer way to go. >> this is why i think it is a very complex issue to cover. the democrats side, whether it is the unions and various factions on republican side, you may have wall street and all that. so you have to look at who the stakeholders in getting a budget passed. >> you know what i think, jon? jon: it is required under the constitution. we'll have to leave it there. interesting discussion. >> ellen is trying to nuance it to death. jon: jim and ellen, thank you both. and we'll be right i'm up next, but now i'm sging the heartburn blues. hold on, prilosec isn't for fast relief. cue up alka-seltzer. it stops heartburn fast. ♪ oh what a relief it is!

jenna: president obama's

second inauguration, quietly released on friday night, revealing a few names of very big corporations. fox business network's adam shapiro is on the story. who are we talking about, adam? >> companies like at&t, microsoft and genentech, they are on the list. what is different this time around, jenna, as we show you video from the last time we had an inauguration, 2009, what is different now, four years ago the president did not accept any corporation donations. this time unlimited donations from corporations. we've been calling at&t, microsoft and only one to respond so far is microsoft and they will not tell us how much they donated, nor will the inauguration committee tell us how much they donated. all of that information in '09 not from corporations but individuals like ceo of microsoft was public because the obama administration gave you the name of the person, how much they donated where you work. this time around they're not doing that. that has organizations that keep a track on who is giving politicians money, that has them upset. for instance we got the

quote from the center for responsive politics. they told us, we would encourage them, them being the inauguration committee, to be more forthcoming prior to the inauguration and certainly prior to the 90-day deadline after the inauguration. they're required by law to say who gave what and how much within 90-days of the inauguration. of course the committee did tell us on the telephone they well do that. which means they're following the letter of the law. but you had the transparency, jenna, four years ago, this time around does not exist. back to you. jenna: interesting change and big companies there. adam, thank you. >> reporter: yep. jon: well he might be a prince but he has worries just like all the rest of us. jenna: does he? jon: yes, jenna he does. two in particular have to do with his sons and his grandchild to be. we'll tell you about that. plus minutes away from president obama announcing his picks to officially head the defense department and the cia we'll take you live to the white house for that oh!

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>> prince charles soon to be grandfather speaking out for hope for a better future for his grandchild. the heir to the british throne saying he's delighted that prince william and kate are expecting. he's not the heir, he's behind. >> prince charles is next, and then prince william. >> and then the heir. worried about leaving an environmental mess for the the next generation. >> i don't want to be confronted by my future grandchild saying why didn't you do something? so, clearly, we're having a grandchild and makes it more. >> and the prince says he worries about his younger son prince harry serving in afghanistan so he does have worries. he is just like us, exactly the same. >> stay safe. and thanks for joining us. >> "america live" starts right now. now. >> fox news alert. we're moments away from an

announcement from president obama. two key national security nominations that could set up a new battle with congress. welcome to "america live," i'm megyn kelly. fox news confirmed that president obama will in moments name former senator chuck hagel, a republican, as his pick for the next defense secretary and john brennan, the president's top counterterrorism advisor will be named as the president's choice to head up the cia. both names have touched off controversy and not just among republicans. we are he going to ask chris stirewalt about this, but first, the senior white house affairs correspondent, wendell goler, live the at the white house now. >> reporter: chuck hagel is a moderate republican and a former senator and you would think that combination would make his confirmation pretty much a slam-dunk. some republicans don't feel he's supportive enough of israel and liberals put off by a comment he made 14 years ago about an american diplomate he said was openly aggressively gay. now, hagel has apologized nor that comment.

even though the pro israel groups aren't waving a red flag about his nomination, south carolina senator lindsey graham is. >> not only has he said you should directly negotiate with iran, sanctions won't work, that israel must negotiate with hamas, an organization, terrorist group that lobs thousands of rockets into israel, he also was one of 12 senators who refused to sign a letter to the european union trying to designate hezbollah as a terrorist organization. >> reporter: if he's confirmed, hagel will be the first defense secretary who served in vietnam as an enlisted soldier. he won two purple hearts and the white house feels he'd be an excellent advocate for servicemen and women, during and after their active duty. he also served on the senate foreign relations committee with then senator barack obama. john brennan's nomination to head the cia is unlikely to draw the same level of criticism. he served in the agency for 25 years before becoming mr. obama's counterterrorism advisor. was actually considered for the cia post in